💎 Fed’s first rate cut since 2020 set to trigger market. Find undervalued gems with Fair ValueSee Undervalued Stocks

FOREX-Dollar slips vs yen after U.S. launches missile strike on Syria

Published 07/04/2017, 11:52 am
Updated 07/04/2017, 12:00 pm
© Reuters.  FOREX-Dollar slips vs yen after U.S. launches missile strike on Syria
EUR/USD
-
USD/JPY
-
DX
-

* Market focus also on U.S.-China talks, U.S. jobs data

* Euro slumps after dovish hints from ECB's Draghi

* March jobs report expected to show a rise of 180,000

TOKYO, April 7 (Reuters) - The dollar skidded against the perceived safe-haven Japanese yen on Friday after the United States launched cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria in response to Syrian forces' alleged use of chemical weapons on Thursday.

An U.S. official said the strike has already been completed. the yen, which tends to gain in times of geopolitical tension or risk aversion, the dollar erased its early modest gains and dropped 0.3 percent to 110.40 yen JPY= , down 0.9 percent for the week.

Some 50 Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. Navy warships in the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A target was identified as an airbase in Homs. Further details on the target and the results of the strikes were not immediately known.

Trump ordered the strikes just a day after he pointed the finger at Assad for this week's chemical attack, which killed at least 70 people, many of them children, in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun. The Syrian government has denied it was behind the attack.

Trump had said on Thursday that "something should happen" with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after the poison gas attack in that country. air strike comes amid a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and will add a new dimension to their talks.

Market participants now await the outcome of talks between the U.S. and Chinese leaders, as well as the monthly jobs report that could back views for more U.S. interest rate hikes.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down slightly on the day at 100.63 .DXY= , up 0.3 percent for the week.

Later on Friday, the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show an increase of 180,000 jobs in March, compared with 235,000 in February, according to economists polled by Reuters, which could reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will deliver two more interest rate increases this calendar year. ECONUS

The meeting had a strong focus on trade and North Korea's military programme, although Masashi Murata, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo, said "I think the market has no strong expectations from the U.S.-China summit."

The U.S. president has also warned that he would be ready to act unilaterally to address North Korea's nuclear program if China does not step up to help in the matter. domestic policy agenda was put in the spotlight on Thursday, when U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said tax reform would take longer to accomplish than healthcare reform. Ryan said that Congress and the White House were initially closer to agreement on healthcare legislation than on tax policy. policy was also in focus, after an administration official told Reuters that "misalignment" was seen as more significant than "currency manipulation" as a cause of trade deficits. misalignment is different from currency manipulation and currency undervaluation," the official said. "So we want to see a process of analysing currency situations that includes whether it's misaligned, not just whether it's devalued or manipulated."

The euro was slightly higher on the day at $1.0647 EUR= , after dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi helped push it to a three week low of $1.0629 overnight. It was down 0.1 percent for the week.

Draghi said on Thursday that he does "not see cause to deviate" from the ECB's stated policy path, which includes bond buying at least until the end of the year and record-low rates until well after that to stimulate inflation.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.